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Oct. 27, 2009 -- Early research suggests that wearing a cell phone on your
hip may weaken the area of the pelvis widely used for bone grafting.

Using an X-ray technique used in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients
with osteoporosis, researchers from Turkey's Suleyman Demireli University
measured pelvic bone density in 150 men who regularly carried their cell phones
attached to their belts.

The men carried their phones for an average of 15 hours each day; they had
used cell phones for an average of six years.

The researchers found that bone mineral density was slightly less on the
side of the pelvis where the mobile phones were carried than on the side that
was not in contact with the phones.

The difference was not statistically significant and fell far short of
approaching bone density reductions seen in people with osteoporosis.

But the findings raise the possibility that bone density could be adversely
affected by electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones, researcher Tolga
Atay, MD, and colleagues note in a news release.

The men in the study were relatively young -- their average age was 32 --
and the researchers hypothesize that bone loss may be more significant in older
people with a greater risk for osteoporosis.

The study appears in the September issue of the Journal of Craniofacial
Surgery.

It is among the first to suggest that close-proximity, long-term exposure to
mobile phones may weaken bones, and the researchers stress that their findings
are preliminary.

Second Opinion

Frank Barnes, PhD, who is a distinguished professor of electrical and
computer engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, tells WebMD that
he knows of no other research examining the impact of cell phone exposure on
bone density.

Barnes chaired a National Research Council (NRC) committee asked by the FDA
to report on the research evaluating cell phone safety.

He points out that electromagnetic waves have been used experimentally to
promote bone growth in people with broken bones that would not heal.

Electromagnetic wave treatment has also been found to strengthen bone in
research involving patients with osteoporosis.

But Atay and colleagues point out that these studies involved very low
electromagnetic wave frequencies of 15 to 72 Hz, while cell phones typically
have frequencies of between 900 to 1,800 MHz.

The NRC committee chaired by Barnes published its report in January 2008,
concluding that more research is needed to determine if cell phone use is
associated with any long-term health problems.

"It is clear that using a cell phone poses no immediate risk," Barnes tells
WebMD. "But it may take many years to have the answers we are looking for with
regard to long-term risk."

Barnes says there has been very little research aimed at determining whether
radiofrequency waves emitted by cell phones pose a risk to specific groups,
such as children, adolescents, and pregnant women and their fetuses.

More than 500 studies have been published examining the impact of cell
phones on health, with the bulk of the studies exploring whether cell phones
cause cancer. The results have been conflicting.

The publication of one of the largest studies ever to explore cell phone use
and cancer is expected soon.

The Interphone study, which began over a decade ago and involved cell phone
users in 13 countries, was designed to determine if cell phone use causes brain
tumors.

But Barnes says this question may not be answered for several decades.

"People have only been using cell phones heavily for about 10 years," he
says. "If the latency period [for cancer] is 30 or 40 years, the data we have
now isn't going to tell us much."